


A Peaceful Dream, A Terrible Awakening

by Odin16immortal



Category: Altered Carbon (TV)
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 00:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13986660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odin16immortal/pseuds/Odin16immortal
Summary: Takeshi wakes up to the perfect world but reality gets in the way.





	A Peaceful Dream, A Terrible Awakening

Takeshi wakes to the sweet smell of pancakes and coffee wafting through the air. He twists in the warmth of blankets. The alarm clock rings incessantly. Takeshi taps the touchpad to get it to shut up. He lays back into the soft cotton sheets and sighs. Sunlight streams into the room through the window. He rolls out bed stretching the reasonable sore in his muscles. Takeshi pauses, touching his face, it feels strange. He shakes his head at the silly thought. How could his own face feel strange? He thinks ruefully.  
He moves to the window to take in the glorious view. Outside is a sea of green leaves kissing clear blue sky. There’s nothing but trees and nature for miles. His home is made of the same type of trees. It stretches and coils beyond the horizon as the living space molds seamlessly within the endless branches. Takeshi strokes gently at the shiny metal that hangs from the ceiling. There’s something about the metal that makes him shiver. A fleeting thought that skids past the surface of his mind and hides deep in the crevices of the forgotten part of his brain. He bites his lip trying to calm the queasiness in his gut. His hand shoots to the back of his neck which is as smooth as the day he was born. There’s something wrong with that.  
“Tak! Breakfast is ready!”Quell calls from the dining room.  
“Come here!” He answers. There’s a shudder in his voice. A nauseating uncertainty quakes in his veins. He hears Quell sigh loudly before the shuffling of feet and the clang of pots and pans ring through the home. She enters the bedroom with an air of fond exhaustion. Quell, his wife, is a practical woman. Her hair braided in simple cornrows and her clothes are plain and well-worn. Her full pregnant belly pokes out from underneath the drab, brown t-shirt. Takeshi grins. No one is more lovely.  
“My lovely man, are you only going to moon over me?” Quell quips as she moves towards him. Takeshi grins and grabs her by the arm pulling her close. He buries his noses at the nape of her neck inhaling the sweet mixture of shea butter and pancake batter. His hands wander over her breast to her stomach. Quell moves her head so their lips meet. His tongue finds its way past her teeth. His wife’s sweet and soft moans are the best things he’s heard in awhile. He is used to hearing gunshots and death. Why was that?  
They fall onto the bed, first Takeshi and then Quell. Her weight on top of him is a nice reminder of the life that springs from her. He runs a finger over the pulse point in her wrist, yet feels nothing. The familiar thrum of life is missing. Concern and dread fill him as something scratches at Tak’s brain. He’s forgetting something. Quell strokes his hair and kisses his cheek.  
“Are you happy?” She mutters softly in his ear. Takeshi hums in contentment. His left hand rubbed her head while the other rests on her stomach.  
“With you always.” He kisses her forehead causing a smile to bloom on Quell’s face. The smile doesn’t reach her eyes. Pain and hurt mar the warmth in those deep brown pools. Takeshi hears distant sounds. He can’t quite make them out but that sinking feeling comes back.  
Quell’s hand joins his on her stomach. She sings gently to their child. A soft crooning lullaby full of sorrow and hope. Takeshi closes his eyes and listens.  
“There was once a princesses who was taken far, far, away…” She croons. Takeshi twists. He doesn’t want to hear it. The noise in the background gets louder and louder.  
“Takeshi, envoys must always accept reality.” Quell states. Takeshi blinks. In an instant, she’d changed. She’s not pregnant or dressed comfortably. Memories of battle and loss swim to the surface from the forgotten fourth part of Takeshi’s mind. Instead of safety and domestic bliss, Quell smells of blood, fire, and soot. Quell is war and defeat.  
“No! Stay with me! Stay with me!” The noise gets louder and louder. The room around him begins to crumble as if shorn. Dejavu wracks Takeshi’s soul with longing and a deep seething hatred. He doesn’t want to wake up to a futile life of hating a system that seems determined to rob him of everything.  
“Find me, Tak. Find me.” Quell whispers in his ear before everything goes white.  
Takeshi Kovacs, the Last Envoy, is born again a third time. This time in the sleeve of a woman not that it matters. No matter what he looked like or who he was. He would find Quell or live a thousand times trying.


End file.
